Living in the North Yorkshire city of Ripon, I am naturally interested in anything that brings to life the stories of Lewis Carroll, whose father was a canon at the Cathedral in the 1850s.

Popular belief is that the rabbit holes in one of England’s smallest cathedral cities inspired the creation of Alice in Wonderland.

It was 150 years after the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, that LSO Animateur Paul Rissmann began work on a project that would see the musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra collaborate with young, school-aged singers.

The story of Alice is magically brought to life as we are transported to her world via one golden afternoon before we spy the White Rabbit and follow Alice down the rabbit hole. It's not long before we come face-to-face with Humpty Dumpty, meet the Cheshire Cat, and participate in The Hatter’s Tea Party.

It is a lovely disc, with accessible music that is a wonderful revelation. Having set out to discover how Victorian composers represented Carroll’s iconic characters, Rissmann began working with Professor Kiera Vaclavik from Queen Mary University of London. During their research, they uncovered a host of sheet music that presented Alice as a quiet, saccharine character—a far cry from the feisty heroine in Carroll’s book.

There were, however, a few exceptions to this, including a short piano piece by Arthur Cleveland. Taking just eight bars of music from this early surviving manuscript, Rissmann began work on a new piece—one that would portray Alice as a determined young soul, as someone inspiring and contemporary.

At the culmination of the project, over 1,000 schoolchildren came to the Barbican Concert Hall to sing Lewis Carroll’s words, accompanied by the full force of the LSO and supported by four soloists. This recording, captured at LSO St Luke’s, forms part of the LSO’s range of new learning resources, which give children, parents, and teachers the opportunity to take part from home.

Rissmann, who is also the narrator, has fully captured the imagination in his delightful orchestration, such as using the brass to represent the snoring of the Red and White Queens. He also portrays the Hatter’s Tea Party in a lighthearted way. The scoring is not too heavy, and all the classic lines are there in the narration, such as "off with his head." As a participatory piece, I have no doubt it will entice young people into the world of classical music.

The LSO obviously enjoyed themselves on the recording. It is exactly what we need to help young people discover the power and beauty of music. Hopefully, they will be entranced and I encourage teachers to search out the Alice: The Wonderland Sound dedicated website and prepare something for the Christmas production.

As the marketing material states, Explore - Get involved - Be inspired.